In the South, football is a religion, and when you go to church to watch the boys play, there's no question about it. You dress up.
While the rest of the country sports jerseys, sweatshirts and jeans to show support for a team, the Southeast kicks its spirit up a classy notch, and Auburn is no different.
On game day, Jordan-Hare Stadium is filled with shades of orange and blue dresses, bowties, skirts and cowgirl boots.
Men and women dress to the nines to shout "War Eagle," but it's the game day dress that has women shopping several weeks before kickoff.
"The game day dress wasn't something I grew up with in Memphis," said Darby Dowdell, senior in apparel merchandising. "When I heard about it, I was so excited. I just thought, 'Oh wow, this is me! I really like this.'"
With dreams of owning a fashion boutique one day, Dowdell puts her heart and soul into her game day dresses.
The fashionista shops for game day attire all summer long and purchases a new dress for each home game.
"I prefer not to wear the same dress twice," Dowdell said. "It's a passion that's important to me. I love how I can combine my love for fashion and football together."
Pamela Ulrich, graduate program officer of the department of consumer and design sciences, said the game day dress is specific to the South for a reason.
"The concept of the game day dress is a relatively new category of attire," Ulrich said. "Numerous football games in the South are played in hot weather, and it's great to see fans in dresses that are fashionable and cool at the same time."
Ulrich said the focus on wearing team colors is also newer in football dressing traditions.
"I think fans became aware of their appearance when they were shown cheering in the stadium on television," Ulrich said. "That's when it seems the wearing of team colors increased. Now, decades old, it's a wonderful statement of color and commitment to one's school spirit."
Dowdell, who went to Ole Miss for her first year of college, said both schools participate in the SEC tradition of dressing up for game day, but Auburn's traditions are different.
"Auburn games are more in-tune with the Auburn spirit," Dowdell said. "It's definitely about wearing orange and blue because that's your team, not because it's Versace. At Auburn, game day is an event for everyone to get involved in."
Therapy, a boutique located next to 17-16 on East Magnolia Avenue, sells a wide range of game day dresses, jewelry and accessories.
McLaurine Klinger, senior in political science, is a sales clerk at Therapy and said game day styles are evolving each season.
"Girls are starting to get out of the dress a bit," Klinger said. "Dresses are still popular, but they've started looking for rompers, shirts and tops to change things up."
Many women worry about shopping at local stores and wearing the same dress as 100 others in the stands, but Klinger said one can get around that by accessorizing an outfit.
"Jewelry is a great way to make a dress your own," Klinger said. "Put your personal style into the outfit."
Dressing up for the game is an expected tradition, but Dowdell said it's more important to look nice for yourself.
"Shop for game day dresses wherever and whenever," Dowdell said. "You don't have to be in Auburn or even a Southern state to find a classy orange and blue dress. That way, you can show your spirit the way you like, and it's uniquely yours."
Dowdell said showing spirit with style isn't about what other people do.
"Everyone's different, and even though we're all told to wear similar things on game day, we should highlight that," Dowdell said. "It all comes down to how you want to present yourself."
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